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For me it's the Chicago Bulls. Obviously, this team got off to a terrible start and really hasn't been able to find a groove. they fired their coach and battled the injury bug too. But if Deng and Gordon come back healthy, Hinrich picks up his play, and the team can squeeze into the playoffs, i think they would be a tough 1st round match-up for us.

Duhon, hinrich, deng, smith, wallace with gordon, thebo, Nocioni, Thomas, and Noah off the bench gives them a lot of depth and energy.

i think the Celtics win this series, but after watching Golden State knock of Dallas last year i think it's worth discussing.

Who scares you?

I'd be alright with getting to the finals without playing the pistons.

If they get healthy just in time to finish 8th the Wizards are the scariest possible 1st round matchup. Any of the other teams that could realistically finish where we could play them in the 1st round don't "scare" me.

1st round match-up. Obviously we won't be matched up with the pistons.

Wizards don't scare me. Hawks don't scare me.

2 out of our 9 loses were to the Wizards. They don't scare me, but let's say they concern me. That team matches up pretty well with the C's.

Wizards and Bulls would be our toughest competition there as well as Charlotte. I think the C's win against any of those teams if healthy but they could probably make us work for it.

They dont' scare me either, but of all the teams we could potentially play in the 1st round they'd be my last choice.

I think the question is who do we scare the most.

I was surprised how well the Wizards balled against us this year, so they're a concern. We also played like crap though. Chicago sucks... Cleveland scares me because we haven't beaten them with Lebron yet. Detroit scares me because they're a vet team.

So between the Cavs and Detroit, I'm kind of leaning towards the Cavs.

I know what to expect out of the Pistons, a crafty veteran team, who has seen the play offs more than once.

The Cav's with out Lebron, are pretty much the Kings now, minus Ron Artest. I can't rap my mind around how Lebron can take over games with his piece of crap team.

...I guess I'd say Chicago simply off their previous success...

But honestly, I don't really fear any 1st round match-up and here's why:

1. Washington- Sure they beat Boston twice in a row, but they also happened to be at a time where the offense was at his all-season low in terms of execution efficiency. The team wasn't getting big production from the bench and was in the process of re-inventing itself. Even with its scoring drought, the team was still leading both games going down the stretch, but made the same mistake of putting James Posey at the 4, which cost the team a ton of rebounds and 2nd chance points.

Boston is deeper and less predictable now. Even a healthy Wizard's team doesn't pose the same offensive/defensive balance that Boston does and that should carry the series.

2. Charlotte- Yes, their athleticism and transition game hurt the Celtics twice this year, but they don't have any post-season experience on their team outside of JRich, who went for the first time last season. Also, what the Bobcats did to Boston in the regular season just won't work in the post-season...a 7 game series is about adjustments and controlling tempo...history has shown that those circumstances lead to a half-court game predicated on superior execution. Charlotte may have a game or two in them, but not enough to win.

...and again, the Celtics will be a more versatile team going into the playoff then they were in these meetings...Powe/Rondo/TA/Davis will be contributing

3. Chicago- Even at their best they are a perimeter oriented team that doesn't get much out of the front court besides solid defense and rebounding...they shoot a lot of 3's and don't have one go-to scorer that can sustain the team's offense through a 7 game series. They match up well with Detroit because Detroit doesn't really have one go-to guy either, so they've battled them well.

But against a Boston team with 3 HoFers and a much more productive bench, I don't see how grit and hustle will stand up against a superior offensive team with the same level of defense and rebounding as Chicago when the Bulls are at their best.

4. Atlanta- The Hawks just got a very underrated acquisition imo when they snagged Mike Bibby. If Bibby gets into his change of scenery the Hawks should push into the 8th or 7th spot in the playoffs. I have no doubts that Bibby and Joe Johnson will handle their business in the playoffs, but I have my doubts as to whether the rest of the team is ready to step up and play out of their minds to win in the first round against a 1st seeded team.

Josh Smith is talented, but he's just not the smartest player ever. In a half court game I think his offensive contributions will be greatly limited and the Hawks don't really have another viable 3rd option on their team beyond him. Horford will play solid defense, but its asking alot for him to match up with KG for 7 games. I'm not a big fan of Childress or any of the other Hawks players come playoff time. I just don't see them matching up for 7 games in a half-court game.

...honestly, the only two team's that can force a 7 game series imo are the Cavs and the Pistons....Orlando is way too reliant on 3-pointers and Boston has enough physical bodies to keep a still-offensively-developing D Howard in check enough to win a series. They are a good defensive team with nice offensive clout, but something tells me that once they hit the playoffs they will have more problems that they're having during the regular season. I don't think Howard is ready to "Shaq-out" in a playoff series yet-he's not a 30+/17+ series contributor who demands triple teams and gets his teammates a million open shots yet, more like 20/15 guy with double coverage or a guy who may be between 25-30 pts and 15-20 rebounds with SINGLE coverage that allows Boston to focus in on their perimeter defense more....

...the playoffs always favor half-court teams with dominant offensive focal points who step up and force the opposition to adjust to them...Boston has 3 of them and an outstanding defense to boot...I expect to face Det/Cle and see them as the only legit threats to win a prolonged series...

good stuff bill....

has anyone else really thought about the playoffs?

i have, & the thing that kept entering my mind is our big 3, & more specifically how motivated & determined their going to be. none of them has gotten farther than their conf. finals & we have already seen their willing to sacrifice their numbers for the better good of the team's success.

just think, we've seen them so far, wait til the postseason to see how much hustle these guys will have & how much passion & determination.

I CAN'T WAIT!!

When I read which scares you the most I think which team has the best chance to upset us. Those are the things that scare you if that's the word you want to throw around. We know we're in for a fight against CLE and DET and while I think we are better than both a loss wouldn't be some huge upset. You can't have a true upset unless you're clear favorites. It's like when every year there's that one team coming into the playoffs that isn't a serious title threat but nobody wants to play them. I'm sticking with WAS as that team if they're healthy, although I'm pulling for IND just so I can catch a playoff game or two .

well the pistons obviously are our biggest threat...then i would have to say cleveland just because lebron is unbelievable and he has a huge knack for putting up big numbers on boston...

but if we're talking first round matchups, then obviously you have to go with washington due to their suprising success against us. my dark horse team here is atlanta. they are a scrappy team and i think the addition of bibby is going to be huge for them.